


elite

by troubledpancakes



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, F/M, Football player!Bellamy, Gymnast!Clarke, cheerleading
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-07-14
Updated: 2016-05-06
Packaged: 2018-04-09 08:05:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 8,086
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4340597
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/troubledpancakes/pseuds/troubledpancakes
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The one where Clarke was an Elite gymnast and got injured. Now she has to go to high school and find something new to do in life.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Clarke stood at the steps of steps of Walden High, she shifted her backpack on her shoulder and swallowed thickly. This was uncharted territory, and she was quite possibly terrified. She hadn’t been to public school since she was nine years old, when her parents finally let her begin training at Phoenix Elite Gymnastics full time. She’d had dozens of tutors and home school groups up to this point, but high school,  _high school_ was a different ball game. 

She knew how to handle petty, judgmental girls and over-bearing authority figures, but throw in some over angst-ridden hormonal teenage boys and Clarke was fish out of water. Clarke felt out of place in her tennis shoes and Jansport backpack. The courtyard had begun to populate and her eye’s flitting around to all the girls in their cutesy tote bags and their glittery sandals.

With a deep breath, Clarke finally moved, climbing the stairs with hesitation. As she entered the building she saw the main office off to her left and directed her feet towards it.

_“Are you sure you don’t want me to go in with you?”_

_“Oh my god, mom. I’m sixteen not six, I don’t need my mommy holding my hand on my first day of school.”_

She was kind of wishing now that her mom was here.  

“Hi, I’m Clarke Griffin. Today is my first day.”

The receptionist glanced up at her and then rolled back slightly from the desk and opened the file drawer beside her. After a few moments of flipping through papers she procured what she was looking for and held it out for Clarke.

“This is your class schedule, one of our office aides will take you to get your books from the supply room and then take you to your first class. My name is Sarah Miller, please feel free to come to me if you need anything, okay, Clarke?”

Clarke smiled at the woman and nodded as she took the schedule. Sarah stood and poked her head through the door frame that led further into the main offices, “Bellamy!”

Clarke stood there awkwardly as she waited, straightening up quickly as an olive-skinned boy with messy curls and a blue Henley came around the corner. 

“You Clarke?”

She nodded.

“I’m Bellamy, the office aide.”

“Nice to meet you,” she held out her hand, and Bellamy quirked his eyebrow with a thin-lipped smile but took it anyways, giving it a firm shake.

“Can I see that schedule?” Bellamy led the way out of the office into their nearly abandoned hallway (the final bell had just rung) with his eyes trained on paper. They stopped at a closet just down the hall from the office and Bellamy started pulling books from the shelf.

“These are senior level classes,” Bellamy said pointedly. “But according to your birth date up here in the corner, you’re only sixteen.“ 

Clarke side-eyed him. “Um, yeah, I was home schooled for a while. I’m a little ahead, only have a year left to go.”

“Home schooled?” Bellamy frowned and adds, “Here, that’s all the books.”

She cleared her throat. “Uh, yeah. I was competing in elite gymnastics, didn’t really have time for rigorous training and regular high school.”

Bellamy nodded to himself, as if  _almost_  impressed. “Huh, elite gymnast. And what changed?” He closed the storage room door behind them and waved Clarke towards the next hallway.

Clarke’s eyes dropped. “I— I had a really bad knee injury at Nationals and dashed my Olympic dreams.”

"Oh, is that all?” Bellamy mused, hands now in his pockets.

Clarke frowned at him.

“Sorry.” He shook his head slightly. “I’m sorry you had to go through that.”

She shrugged in response as Bellamy stopped just in front of a classroom. “This is you, AP World History with Mr. Kane. He’s good, you’ll like him.”

” _You_  took AP World History?” Clarke drawled, quirking an eyebrow.

Bellamy held his hands up in mock offense. “Hey, just because I’m an office aide doesn’t mean I’m a slacker!”

“Okay, okay, easy!” She laughed. “And, uh, thanks,” she added with a curt nod. 

“Anytime, Princess.” He started to walk back to the office.

Clarke called back, “Bellamy?”

“Hm?” He turned.

“Where’s the cafeteria?”

Bellamy smirked and pointed towards the end of the hall they were on. “Take a left, then a right, and it will lead you out to the main foyer. The caf is on the far side of that.”

“Okay.” She smiled. “Thanks.”

Clarke took a deep breath and turned the knob to the classroom.

* * *

The first few hours were fine, her first period was the only class she had to stand up and introduce herself: but that was because she’d come in after the bell. It had taken her the full seven minutes between each class to find each room, but the school wasn’t big enough that she got completely lost. 

At lunch, she found an empty table by the windows and sat quietly as she ate, until a fury of brown hair and sharp eyebrows hurdled in to the seat across from her.

” _You_  must be Clarke Griffin,” she pepped.

Clarke’s eyes widened, mouth full of salad. “E’cuse me?”

“My brother, Bellamy Blake the Office Aide, told me  _you_  were a former elite gymnast.”

Clarke nodded her head slowly making mental notes:  _okay, so, sister of handsomely freckled office aide._

"I’m Octavia,” she offered. “Captain of the Cheerleading Squad.”

 _Ah, there it was._  

“And, we’ve got tryouts this afternoon, and I’m betting you’d be the  _perfect_ addition to our squad.”

Clarke shook her head. “Oh no, I am  _not_  a cheerleader. Nuh-huh, no way.”

Octavia held up her hand. “Hey, none of the cheerleader’s are bimbo’s bullshit, Clarke Griffin. We do some extreme stuff, we even made it to the Regional High School competition, and finished one place out of going to Nationals.”

Clarke stared blankly.

"And I’m  _guessing_  with someone like  _you_ , we could go all the way to nationals.” Skepticism clouded Clarke’s face and Octavia frowned. “At least think about it?”

Clarke set down her fork. “Okay, I’ll  _think_  about it.”

Octavia’s face lit up and she clapped her hands together. “Gym. 3:45, and if you need some clothes to change into, don’t worry— I got you covered.”

Clarke tried to smile. “Great.”

"By the way,” she added, jumping up from her seat. “You’re totally as hot as Bellamy said you were.”

Her face burned bright red, and Clarke swore the girl practically  _skipped_  back over to her table of chatty girls that had undoubtedly been staring at her the entire conversation. 

Groaning, she thought to herself,  _what have I gotten myself into? Clarke Griffin: Cheerleader?_


	2. Chapter 2

Clarke had sent her mom a text telling her not to pick up her right after school, and now here she was, standing in front of the gymnasium doors, playing with the straps on her backpack. She could hear the edgy mix of pop songs blasting and the laughter of teen-aged girls. Clarke rolled her shoulders where she could feel the tension building; she shouldn't be nervous about this,  _right?_  This was high school cheerleading, not the Olympic Trials. Taking a deep breath, she pushed through the doors and she saw Octavia, stretching over in the corner, short black shorts and a red tank top: Walden High School colors.  _Go Panthers!_

Octavia must have seen her, because she squealed and jogged over to where Clarke stood, anxiously wringing her hands together. "Clarke! You came!"

Clarke offered her a smile with a shrug. "I came!"

Octavia had no sense of personal space, she grabbed Clarke, wrapping her up in a firm embrace. "I'm so glad, do you need something to wear?"

"Uh, yeah, if you have something," Clarke said wistfully.

"Absolutely, follow me."

Octavia lead her out into the hallway, and Clarke's eyes glanced over all the trophies in the display. There was a large picture of the football team, 2014 4-A State Champions, and Clarke smiled, at least they were cheering for a good team. In the next case, a smaller one, there was a plaque with none other than Bellamy Blake's face in a red and black football jersey and a stupid lopsided grin. Underneath it read: 2014 All-American Quarterback.

 _Of course._ Who even  _was_  this guy?

Clarke apparently had stopped to stare because the next thing that she knew, Octavia had grabbed her arm to drag her towards the locker room.

"Please don't drool over my brother, his ego is big enough." She rolled her eyes.

Clarke grinned, a slight blush creeping into her cheeks. Once inside the locker room, Octavia tossed her a pair of shorts and a t-shirt from her locker, standing there nonchalantly while Clarke changed. 

"Dude, your arms are so sick."

Clarke glanced at her arms and shrugged happily. "Uneven bars will do that, I guess."

"Were you really on track for the Olympics?"

Wincing slightly, she tugged the shirt over her head and answered, "I was ranked in the top five in the country, my chances were good. I was working hard to nail this double-Arabian move in my floor routine: Nationals rolls along: botch the landing, blow out my knee-- for the second time."

Octavia's face darkened.

"Doctors said I wouldn't be able to continue at the pace I was going, and I wouldn't be ready in time to qualify for the Olympics. And let's face it, I'll be too old by the time the next one rolls around."

"I'm so sorry." Octavia reached out.

Clarke tried to brush it off. "It's not like I still can't tumble, I've been doing my rehab for a few months now, post surgery. I just can't train as rigorously, and competition at the elite level was pretty much out of the question."

"So you come back to...  _high school?_ " 

Clarke laughed. "Mom thought it would be a good idea to socialize with people who weren't gymnasts for a while."

"Well, I'm sure you'll fit right in. We're going to start warm-ups in about ten minutes, see you out there!" Octavia bounced away on the balls of her feet as Clarke sat down on the bench to tie her shoes.  _Oh boy._

* * *

Clarke jumped into the warm-ups, enjoying the familiar stretching of her muscles. She'd stopped by the trainer and borrowed a brace for her knee, since she hadn't brought hers to school with her. It was slightly bulky and uncomfortable, but it was better than nothing.

The first hour consisted of a few basic cheers and yells, and some simple dance-y combinations that Clarke awkwardly worked her way through. Trying to match what the other (less rhythmically inclined) girls were doing was a bit strange, as she was accustomed to performing on her own. 

After they had completed that section of the try-outs, they moved on to basic stunts. Flying, trying out different girls in different based positions, simple round-offs, back handsprings, and splits. Clarke enjoyed bending her body into these familiar positions, easily overshadowing the younger girls with her flexibility and strength. 

Octavia and a few of the other members of the current cheer squad were gathered around a small table, whispering and jotting down notes on a piece of paper. 

"Okay." Octavia turned to the group. "We're going to extend the next portion of tryouts to those who are experienced in tumbling. If you think you possess a more advance level, please step forward."

Clarke looked around, the far gym door opened as she stepped forward, along with three other girls. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Bellamy Blake swagger his way into the gym and plop himself down on the bleachers to watch from afar.  _Of course,_ of course the ridiculously good-looking, All-State football playing, AP History taking office aide-slash-Head Cheerleaders older brother would come and  _observe_  as they got ready to do full-on tumbling.

She took a breath,  _he's just curious. He's here for his sister._

The mats had been rolled out and Octavia was trying to get everyone's attention. The rest of the girls trying out had taken their seats on the bleachers and the remaining four girls stood huddled close together.

"Lexa, you'll go first. Followed by... Anya, Harper and then Clarke. Okay? Everyone ready?" Octavia gave a sugary sweet smile.

Clarke waited her turn while the first three girls took their run on the mats. Lexa was a fairly decent tumbler; she had strong legs and a beautiful standing tuck. Anya was a little chaotic when it came to her passes, overextending her landing: but otherwise good. Harper ended up barely being able to complete her pass, Clarke thought she may have been overconfident in what she was actually capable of.

Then it was Clarke's turn. 

Octavia gave her an encouraging smile as she took her place on the mat. With a deep breath, Clarke took a running start to begin her pass. Round-off, back handspring, back handspring, full twisting layout. She landed steadily and the thudding against the mats echoed in the now quiet gym.

Her eyes drifted over to Octavia, who gave her an eager nod.  _Go on!_  she mouthed. She licked her loosened up her arms again as she returned to the end of the mat and glanced over at where Bellamy was sitting, his eyes glued on her with an dumbstruck look on his face. 

Clarke readied herself with a deep breath and began a second pass: front flip step-out, round-off, piked Arabian, round-off, double twisting layout. She landed with a few large steps after, but she  _landed it, arms held up proudly._ She hadn't been in the gym in months and suddenly she felt the tension dissipate from her chest. Clarke found herself smiling as she brushed a few wisps of hair from her face and she heard the applause from the spectators. 

She turned and jogged over to the crowd and Octavia pulled her into a hug. "That. Was. Awesome."

Clarke let out a pained laughed as Octavia's death grip finally loosened and she stumbled away from the embrace. Octavia turned back to the rest of the girls. "Alright girls, results will be up by Friday, thanks for coming out!"

Chatter arose and Clarke was swarmed with  _'way to go's'_ and  _'that was incredible's'_  as they filed out of the gym. She was nearly the last one in the locker room, waiting until the rest of the girls had left before sending her mom a text and gathering up her backpack. 

Octavia came bursting into the changing area with her co-captain, Neva, laughing. "Hey Clarke!"

Clarke smiled. "Hey, Octavia, here's your stuff. Thanks for letting me borrow it."

"Not a problem, next time you'll be prepared," Octavia countered with a wink. 

"Hah!" Clarke laughed. "I guess so, I'll see you guys later!"

They both waved and returned to their conversation as Clarke pushed on the door leading out to the hallway of the Athletic building. She turned left out of the threshold, only to be met with Bellamy Blake leaning up against the wall with his arms crossed against his chest.

She started to walk past him and he rolled himself off the wall and fell into step with her. "Hey." He grinned.

"Hi," Clarke offered. "Octavia's still changing."

"Oh, I wasn't waiting for her, we have our own cars." Bellamy shrugged as he ran his hand through his hair.

"Then what were you waiting for?"

Bellamy hesitated. "You?"

Clarke halted. "Me? Why?"

Bellamy looked almost embarrassed. "I don't know."

Quirking her eyebrow, Clarke moved her feet again, trying to remember where the front entrance of the building was.

"Are you doing anything Friday night?"

Clarke shook her head. "I don't have any plans, why?"

"Well, every year on the first Friday of the school year we throw this big bonfire bash out on this guys uncle's best friend or someone's, field. The cheerleaders usually do some pep initiation thing, all the football guys will be there. It's kind of lame, but it could be fun." He looked at her expectantly.

"Is that you telling me about it? Or are you trying to ask me if I want to come?" Clarke mused.

Bellamy laughed nervously and shoved his hands in his pockets. "I can pick you up around seven. If you want to go," he offered, "...with... me."

Clarke felt a blush creep into her cheeks. "I'll have to check with my mom."

Bellamy nodded. "Cool, just let me know, or whatever," he added, shrugging nonchalantly.

"Okay, cool." Clarke couldn't keep herself from smiling.

"Oh and by the way, the front entrance is the other way."

Clarke stopped and noticed a dead end in the hallway. "What?"

Bellamy let out a deep, husky laugh and Clarke bit her lip as she looked at him, freckle-dusted, olive-skinned football god.  _Don't swoon. No swooning, Clarke._

"And you let me keep walking?" She punched him playfully.

He rubbed at his arm with mock hurt. "How else was I gonna get you alone!" 

He winked again and Clarke turned on her heels, carefully swaying her hips. "See you around Bellamy Blake."

"See you around, cheer princess."


	3. Chapter 3

Friday rolled around and Clarke was only slightly jittery at the results being posted. Octavia had, of course, been hounding her all week with ‘ _Oh, no. You totally made it!’_ and sending her a million and one YouTube video’s of Elite Gymnastics routines over Facebook. But, there was still something thrilling about approaching the bulletin board in the lobby of the gym and seeing her name at the top of the list.

 **Varsity Cheer**  
Clarke Griffin  
Lexa Carey  
Anya Lachman  
  
**Junior Varsity Cheer**  
Harper McIntyre  
Anna Fox  
Indra Owusu  
Myles Mahoney  
_etc…_  
  
She didn’t bother to memorize the rest of the list, although she did admire the tenacity of that freshman boy who made JV. She gripped the bag slung over her shoulder when she heard a tittering giggle coming around the corner, she turned her head to see that it was Octavia and Neva. Octavia saw her and she beamed at Clarke, rushing up to pull her into a hug. 

“It’s official, you’re one of us now!“ 

Clarke tried to laugh but Octavia’s hold was tight. “No going back now, huh?”

Neva piped in, “So, you’re coming to the bonfire tonight, right?”

Clarke’s mouth twitched. “Yeah, actually, Bellamy asked if I want to go… with him.”

The corners of Octavia’s mouth tugged into a smug grin. “ _Oh_ , so you have the hots for my brother, huh?”

"No, I—” Clarke started.

“It’s okay, Clarke. Almost all the girls in this school do.” She shrugged.

Clarke felt a blush creep onto her cheeks. Octavia just continued to smile. “Okay, well then, we’ll see you there! Dress warmly!” 

She and Neva skipped off and left Clarke alone in the foyer, staring at the paper.  _What had she gotten herself into?_

“Need help reading that?” A familiar husky voice chuckled and Clarke spun around to see Bellamy approaching, hair damp from a shower he’d undoubtedly just finished post-practice and a pair of worn sweatpants.  _How was it possible that he looked that good in just about anything?_

” _No,_ “ she chided. "Just admiring my name at the  _top_  of the list,” she said, popping the p on  _top_  to emphasize her elation.

Bellamy bit his lip with a twinkle in his eye,  _no swooning, Clarke. No. Swooning._  ”So, is seven still okay for tonight?” He asked hopefully.

Clarke beamed. “Yeah, I’ve got the okay.  _Actually_ , my dad practically begged me to go. I think he  _wants_  me to break curfew and get in trouble for once in my life.” 

"I think we can manage that,” Bellamy teased, and Clarke just laughed.

* * *

Clarke glanced down at her phone sitting on the vanity and saw that it was already 6:57.  _Shit._  She hastily swiped on the rest of her mascara and touched up her lipstick. September had been fairly warm so far, so she felt comfortable in a tank top and bulky sweater with her skinny jeans and boots. If anything, they’d have the bonfire to keep them warm. 

_“Clarke, your… Bellamy is here,"_ her mom called up the stairs. Clarke rolled her eyes at her mother avoiding the word  _date._  She was sixteen, after all. 

She rushed down the stairs, and saw Bellamy standing anxiously in the hallway with his hands shoved in the pockets of his jeans.  _Oh, that’s why mom was hesitant to use the word date._  Bellamy was donned in a black leather jacket and combat boots and he just  _looked_  like he wanted to whip out a cigarette and ride off into the sunset on his motorcycle. 

“Okay, bye mom,” she breathed, grabbing Bellamy’s arm. “Bye dad!” she called over her shoulder, dragging Bellamy out the front door as her mother looked on with a mixture of emotion on her face. 

Clarke caught a snippet of her father walking into the living room,  _She’s almost seventeen, Abby. You have to trust her judgment._ She was glad her father was in her corner. 

They finally piled into his car and Clarke was playing with the buttons on her sweater when Bellamy finally spoke. “So your mom seems nice.”

Clarke let out a breathy laugh. “In her mind, I’m still her little gym rat, wearing my sparkly purple leotards and pigtails. I think it’s hard to see me go out and do new things like this.” 

Bellamy hummed a little bit in response as they began their drive to the country. “So, how’s high school treating you?”

“Mr. Kane is weirdly fixated on the Holocaust.” Clarke shrugged.

“Yeah, his World War II unit will probably last the whole semester.” Bellamy laughed. “He’s good at what he does though." 

Bellamy caught her smile out of the corner of his eye, before she began rifling through the glove box and the storage spot in the door. Clarke pulled up a tattered CD case and began flipping through the sleeves. 

"AC/DC, Nirvana, typical,” Clarke teased as she proceeded and Bellamy chewed on the inside of his cheek, trying to keep an eye on the road.

Clarke got quiet for a moment, until she turned a quirked an eyebrow at Bellamy. “The Stars Wars Soundtrack?” She flipped through a few more pages. “ET? Raiders of the Lost Ark?” 

Bellamy’s face prickled with heat. “I like John Williams!”

Clarke grinned. “You are such a  _nerd!_ ”

“Shut up,” he grumbled humorously.

“Ha! I’m  _mostly_  teasing, I actually used one of his scores for a floor routine a few years ago.”

Bellamy studied her for a short moment as they sat at a red light, and Clarke shrugged. “It’s against the rules to use songs with lyrics.”

"Huh,” Bellamy breathed, and the light turned green. They turned off onto a long dirt one shortly thereafter and Clarke could smell the bonfire in the air as they approached an old farmhouse. 

Bellamy parked and hopped out of the car, moving around to open the door for Clarke and helping her out. They made their way towards the crowd of people scattered around the open area and Bellamy’s hand found it’s way to the small of her back.

The sun had mostly gone down and the sky was beginning to twinkle with a dusting of stars. “Do you want a drink?” Bellamy asked, interrupting her daydream. 

Clarke brought her attention to the dark eyes boring into her. “Yeah, that’d be great.” 

Bellamy jogged off towards the keg and Clarke approached the bonfire hesitantly. Clarke found Octavia and nudged her with her elbow mid-swallow and Octavia pulled her into a hug, wiping her mouth behind Clarke’s head. “I see my brother got you here safely!” 

“He was an excellent driver,” Clarke offered. Octavia just raised her eyebrows as her gaze went over Clarke’s shoulder. Suddenly there was a presence behind her and a cup was being lowered over her head. Clarke tilted her gaze backwards and saw Bellamy standing over her with a lopsided grin, taking the cup in her own grasp.

Octavia gave Bellamy a nod and then Clarke a knowing look. “Don’t disappear on me, we’ve got things planned tonight!”

Clarke smiled anxiously as Octavia skipped away towards a rather large boy who looked much too old to be in high school, with an tattoo creeping out from under the collar of his shirt and a bald head. She turned back to Bellamy who was glowering after Octavia and Clarke poked at him. “Hey, big brother, bring it down a few notches. You might set  _her_  on fire with the heat of that glare.”

Bellamy’s face softened as he looked back to Clarke. “C’mon, I wanna show you something.” He held out his free hand and Clarke grabbed in, tangling her fingers in with his as a wave of electricity shot up her arm. 

They wandered away from the crowd and up a small incline until Bellamy stopped and looked at Clarke, who was gazing out on the horizon with her mouth open. 

“Oh my god,” she managed to whisper.

Spread below them was a large lake and beyond that acres of land. The sky was now glittering with millions of stars, unobstructed by glaring city lights. 

Clarke had dropped her grip on Bellamy’s hand as she did a slow turn, taking in the vast country around her. She stopped, suddenly aware. “Sorry!” 

Bellamy let out a soft laugh. “It’s fine, most people do that the first time they come out here.”

Clarke glared at him teasingly. “You take all the new cheerleaders out here?”

“Nah.” He shrugged. “Only the cute ones." 

Clarke punched him in the arm and he dropped back a few steps, a  _come and get me_  grin plastered on his smug face and Clarke down the rest of her drink with a grimace (who knew cheap beer was so shitty?) and followed after him. 

They ended up laying down on patch of grass on the other side on the hill, on a slight incline. They laid slightly angled away from each other, but their heads were close enough that Clarke could still hear Bellamy breathing. 

"How many do you think there are?” Clarke asked.

“Well, there’s nearly 400 million stars in the Milky Way alone.”

Clarke titled her head up with a playful smile dancing on her lips and Bellamy continued, “We can’t even see a fraction of them with the naked eye though you  _can_  see a little bit of the Andromeda Galaxy if you know where to look.”

Clarke was searching the sky, until she felt Bellamy shift beside her, until he was hovering over her gaze. He grabbed her hand and pull it up. “You see the Big Dipper?” She nodded. “Keeping moving and you’ll see the North Star, and then there’s Cassiopeia.” He guided her hand gently, fingers laced together in an oddly comfortable way as he drew a square with their hands. “Great Square of Pegasus, and right there, that super fuzzy looking ellipsis is the Andromeda Galaxy.” 

“Oh.” Clarke dropped their hands to her stomach but Bellamy didn’t untangle his fingers, but remained propped up on his free elbow, looking at Clarke.

Clarke tucked her free hand behind her head and gazed lazily at Bellamy who began talking again. “So, Andromeda, known to the Romans as Venus, was Cassiopeia’s daughter, and Cassiopeia used to just go  _on and on_  about how beautiful her daughter was, but Neptune got  _totally_  pissed because it was an insult to his nymphs or whatever. So he sent a sea monster and the king was horrified when the oracle told him that he could only appease Neptune by sacrificing Andromeda to the monster.” Bellamy began to move his thumb back and forth against the back of Clarke’s hand. “So obviously, as luck would have it, Perseus happened across the scene and ends up killing the monster for Andromeda’s hand in marriage, and Athena put her in the stars.”

Clarke smiled sweetly, biting back on her lip. “Aha.”

Bellamy blushed. “Y’know, if you’re into that sort of thing.” 

Clarke let out a deep laugh. Bellamy was a humongous nerd and Clarke insanely attracted to every bit of it. Her eyes flicked to his lips and back to his eyes, which were gazing at her affectionately.

Bellamy began to lean down, his lips hovering just centimeters away when Octavia burst over the hill with a playfully sing-song voice.  _“Claaaaarke! We need you!"_

Bellamy jerked back and rolled over onto the grass with a groan, and Clarke stifled a laugh as they disentangled their fingers. 

"Can we press pause?” Clarke asked hopefully, pulling herself up into a seated position.

Bellamy winked at her. “Go get ‘em, cheer princess.”


	4. Chapter 4

Octavia waggled her eyebrows at Clarke who was brushing off the earth from the back of her jeans and Bellamy just remained casually laying on the hill, hand tucked behind his head. 

“Sorry to steal your date away, Bell, but we’ve got plans for her.”

Bellamy tipped his head up to roll his eyes at his little sister. “Whatever you say, O, just bring her back to me in one piece.”

Clarke felt warmth flood her face as Neva grabbed her hand and dragged her back towards the bonfire. Lexa and Anya were already there, both looking rather bored. 

Octavia gathered them in a circle and the squad stood waiting for instruction. “We’ll be holding our annual Handstand Competition in just a few minutes. Rules are: you drop, you drink, you resume the handstand. You may give up at any point, and the winner gets single-hotel-bed rights during competition all year. Any questions?”

The girls just shook their heads and they spread out in the cleared space surrounded by football players and other students casually sipping on their drinks. Clarke saw Bellamy join the circle out of the corner of her eye and she inhaled sharply. A boy in a Letterman jacket and beanie, Miller, it said, came up and handed each girl a red solo cup half-full with beer. 

“Drink!” Octavia announced, and Clarke crinkled her nose before swallowing the stale beverage. She mimicked the rest of the group by dropping into a handstand position and walked on her hands slightly as she found her balance. The crowd was noisy, cheering and jeering as girls dropped, took a swig of beer and kicked back into their handstands. 

Clarke heard one of the girls start to moan and out of the corner of her eye, the girl plopped down on the ground clutching her stomach. Clarke felt the blood rushing to her head and she dropped her legs down, bringing herself upright. Someone shoved a cup into her hands and she downed it quickly, shaking out her limbs. Bellamy crossed his arms against his chest and Clarke’s cheeks flooded with warmth, laughing with a shake of her head before placing her palms in the dirt and kicking her legs back up gracefully.

Girls began to drop out one by one, until only Clarke and Lexa remained. Clarke had three more pit stops to Lexa’s six, but Lexa seemed like the kind of girl who knew how to handle her alcohol. The group was chanting: some Clarke, some Lexa-- when suddenly Lexa wobbled and landed back on her feet before toppling back onto her ass in the grass. Lexa gave her a terse nod, and even upside-down, Clarke knew that she’d won. People swarmed the area, laughter and cups bumping, alcohol sloshing and pats on the back. Somehow, Clarke managed to weave her way to Bellamy who grabbed her hand and led her away from the bonfire. 

“Oh, thank god,” Clarke breathed once they were free of the over-stimulation of the boozy bonfire crowd and Bellamy tucked her closer to his body, draping an arm over her shoulder warmly. 

They found themselves in a dark clearing again and they collapsed into the cool grass, heads close together as they stared up at the sky. 

“So, your first party?” Bellamy’s head fell to the side to look at her.

Clarke smiled, mind light and chest warm. “Haha, yeah. Beer sucks.”

Bellamy’s laugh was deep and throaty and his whole body vibrated with the action. Clarke liked that.

“But, I’m glad a came,” Clarke said softly, and she found Bellamy’s hand between them and interlaced their fingers. 

“I’m glad you came, too, Clarke.”

Clarke knew she was bright pink, but if he noticed through the dark that swept through the field, he didn’t say anything. 

* * *

“Clarke! You have to stop putting your arms up after the pass!”

Clarke sighed, rubbing her chin against her shoulder, slick with sweat. They’d be in the gym for an hour working on tumbling and Clarke kept making the same mistakes over and over.

Octavia appeared in front of her. “Hey.” She grabbed her bicep. “I know you’re trying.” Clarke dragged her eyes up. “But, our first game tomorrow and you gotta get it together.” 

Clarke swallowed thickly and nodded. It had been nearly two weeks since the bonfire and their first home game was approaching rapidly. Clarke was trying to focus, really, but since football season had gotten into full swing, she hadn’t gotten to see much of Bellamy, let alone hang out with him. 

He had driven her home after the bonfire, both of them smelling of stale beer, smoke, and the cool September air. Bellamy had walked her to the front door, their hands tangled together on the front porch. 

 _“I know my mom is watching from the living room window,”_  Clarke had said through gritted teeth. Bellamy only smiled and pressed a lingering kiss to her cheek before backing down the steps and back to his truck. 

 _“Good night cheer princess.”_ He waved from his truck and Clarke’s cheek burned where his lips had been moments ago.

Now she was unfocused and exhausted from practice every day after school for the last two weeks, her knee sore from overuse. Octavia frowned and sighed. “Don’t get yourself so worked up, go home, take a shower, and we’ll see you at Neva’s for the pep dinner.”

Clarke nodded tiredly. “Yeah, okay. I’ll see you at seven.”

* * *

“Okay, so every girl on the squad will draw a piece of paper from this hat. Each piece has the name of a Varsity senior. They will be you Secret Spirit Senior. You’ll be in charge of making pep boxes, and little gifts to get them pumped for game days and whatever else you decide. How you go about it is up to you!”

They all sat on the floor of Neva’s living room, perched on pillows and couch cushions. Clarke groaned at the idea of doting upon some cocky Varsity Football player but she took a piece of paper when the hat was passed to her. She unfolded it quietly and saw the name:

_Bellamy Blake, #8_

Clarke’s face prickled with warmth.

“Oooo.” A voice came from over her shoulder. “Clarke got your brother, O!”

A few of the girls whistled playfully and Clarke squirmed in her seat. 

Octavia scrunched up her nose. “Just don’t give him like… your underwear or yourself wearing nothing but a gift wrap bow. I don’t need that image in my brain.”

There was laughter and excited chatter as the girls shared their picks with each other and Clarke inhaled deeply, followed by a slow, calculated exhale.  _Bellamy Blake,_ what kind of mess was she getting herself into?


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> First home game.

The first home game had arrived, and Clarke stood with a small lamely decorated box in front of Bellamy’s locker. She had the combination but there was something oddly intimate about going through someone else’s locker. 

She took a deep breath a turn the dial slowly, waiting for it to click. As she opened it, what she found  _almost_  surprised her. It was tidy-- no trash or loose papers anywhere. His textbooks were stacked neatly together, along with three novels, and a red leather notebook with post-it notes sticking out of random pages. There was a picture of Bellamy and Octavia that had to have been quite old, as Octavia was missing her two front teeth and Bellamy was all arms and legs. 

It made her smile to think of the younger Blake’s. Shaking her head, she refocused on her mission. She slid the Pep Box into the locker and closed it quickly. 

_Mission accomplished._

* * *

Staring at the mirror, Clarke adjusted the uniform for the umpteenth time. The bow on her head was higher than she would ever have chosen to wear it, but the skirt covered her ass better than any leotard ever did, so she wasn’t complaining. 

Octavia and a few of the girls on the squad came bursting through the locker room door. “Clarke!” she said excitedly. “Are you ready for the game?”

Clarke tried to smile enthusiastically. “As ready as I’m going to be.”

“C’mon, you’re going to love it.” Octavia looped her arm through Clarke’s and they marched out together down to the field.

* * *

The game was  _fun._

The crowd was loud and Clarke fed off the energy from the stands. She didn’t even mind the pom-poms. She and Lexa  _killed_  the tumbling bit of the routine and Clarke felt so light and happy, the wind probably could have taken her away.

Bellamy had an amazing game, not that Clarke was able to watch very closely. But she smiled every time the announcer said his name and the crowd roared. They exchanged a Spirit Stick-thing-- Clarke didn’t question it-- with the opponents squad, and Clarke started to feel like this was going to be a good year.

A bunch of the cheerleaders and football players were going out to one of the Varsity boys house, whose parents were gone for the weekend, and Clarke didn’t want to go by herself.

She waited outside the locker room nervously. Several of the players nodded at Clarke as they exited, and she smiled back.

A few minutes later, Bellamy emerged, hair damp and bag slung over his shoulder. Clarke pulled herself from the wall. “Hi.”

Bellamy stuttered a step, then smiled widely. “Hi.”

“I-- uh,” Clarke started, but then frowned.”

“You waited for me,” Bellamy said.

Clarke looked at her feet, then straightened up. “Yes,” she said confidently. “I did. “You wanna give me a ride to the party?”

“Are your parents okay with that?”

Clarke shrugged innocently. “Mom’s in the ER tonight, and Dad is away on business.” 

Bellamy considered it for a minute.

“If you’re that concerned. You can have me home by two, or I’ll kick your butt myself.”

Bellamy laughed. “Okay, let’s go cheer princess.” He draped his arm over her shoulders as they headed towards the parking lot. “You looked totally hot in that uniform tonight, by the way.”

“Shut up.”

* * *

Clarke learned she was  _really_  good at beer pong. She and Bellamy played the table most of the night, sending football players away grumbling about losing to a  _fucking cheerleader._ She didn’t know when she’d been this happy.

That’s a lie. When she was fourteen, she won her first national title, and that felt amazing. It was a special high you get from winning, but this felt pretty good, too. Bellamy made her feel really good, the squad made her feel really good.

She thought this high school thing might not be so bad. 

* * *

The nature of elite athletics meant that everyone ended up as competition at some point, and that never left a lot of room for close friendship. Clarke had a few friends from her gym, but most of those relationships kind of fizzled out after she’d gotten hurt. Before high school, she never felt like she had a  _circle_  or a niche-- a place to belong. Walden High provided her with something that made her feel like she  _did_  belong.

As the season progressed, Clarke hung out a lot. She went shopping with Octavia and Neva. She tumbled after practices were over with Lexa. She went to the movies with Bellamy. She played Settlers of Catan with Miller and Monty. She tutored freshmen in Chemistry. 

For once, she didn’t feel the pressure to succeed all the time. She felt like a normal teenager.

October rolled around and posters went up advertising for Homecoming.

“Do you think Bellamy’s going to ask someone?” Clarke asked Octavia casually at practice one day as they stretched.

“I thought we weren’t going to talk about my brother.”

Clarke blushed. “Sorry.”

Octavia laughed. “Bellamy is probably going to get nominated for Homecoming King, so I wouldn’t be surprised if he asked  _somebody_.” She waggled her eyebrows at Clarke.

Clarke wanted him to ask her. Really badly.

Rolling her eyes, Octavia jumped up. “C’mon, we need to go over Homecoming Spirit Week with the rest of the squad. You’re going to love it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Meh, I haven't felt super inspired. But I hope you still enjoy it!


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Spirit Week.

As it turned out, Walden High took Spirit Week _very_ seriously. 

The Friday before the big week Octavia invited everyone over to her house for spaghetti dinner and planning. Clarke was overwhelmed when Octavia began talking at a million miles an hour. 

“Monday is tie-dye, easing our way into the week. Tuesday is Superhero themed. Wednesday is Wacky day and Thursday is Pajama day. And, of course, Friday is School Spirit Day!”

Clarke took a deep breath, she could do this. 

Her phone beeped and she glanced at it.

_has my sister driven u crazy yet ;)_

Clarke smiled, zoning out from the squad planning, only vaguely hearing Octavia say she was going to be dressing up as Wonder Woman. 

**nah she’s great, a little intense about spirit week. but it’s fun.**

_are you sleeping over?_

**..... bellamy**

_what?! it’s a sacred high school ritual..._

Clarke shook her head as she read the texts.

“Clarke, are you paying attention?”

Clarke snapped her head back up and Octavia stared at her with eyebrows raised.

“Oh, yeah,” she stammered. “Sorry. What do you need?”

“Do you have a tie-dyed shirt?”

“Yeah, my team made some for Nationals a couple of years ago,” Clarke answered. _  
_

Octavia seemed to accept that and moved onto the next topic of conversation.

* * *

Clarke held a cup under the faucet, staring at the window mindlessly.

“Your cup is overflowing.”

Startled, Clarke spun around to see Bellamy leaning against the counter with a smirk on his face. He had glasses on now, she didn’t know about those. 

She let out a shaky laugh, but smiled. “Oh my god, Bellamy, you scared me.”

He gave her one of his million-watt smiles and came around the counter. Reaching around the counter, he turned the faucet off. 

“Oh,” she mumbled, trying to step out of the way for him. Bellamy countered her step, though, keeping them just as close as they were a minute ago.

“Hi,” he said.

Clarke smiled. “Hi.”

“Did my sister ask you to sleep over yet?”

Clarke shook her head with a laugh. “You know she invited the whole squad, right?”

“Yeah,” he said, crinkling his nose. “But you’re the only one I care about.”

Bellamy had this way of making her heart flip in her chest. 

“So,” he hummed, and Clarke felt his skin radiating against hers. “Do you have a dress for homecoming yet?”

“I do...”

“What color is it? I want to match.”

Clarke choked on her water. “I don’t really remember asking you to Homecoming.

Bellamy blushed. “That was my smooth attempt at asking you to Homecoming.”

“Oh!” Clarke said, her turn to blush.

A second of silence passed before Bellamy nudged her. 

“Oh, it’s blue,” she laughed.

Bellamy ducked his head. “Is that your smooth way of saying yes?”

Clarke peered over at him. “Yes, Bellamy, I’ll go to homecoming with you.”

He beamed at her, wrapping his arms around and pulling her into his chest. He smelled like Old Spice and Clarke sighed. 

* * *

“Oh my god.” 

Clarke was sitting with Monty and Miller during free period on School Spirit day, which also happened to be the big Homecoming game. The dance wasn’t until the next day, but that didn’t mean Clarke wasn’t already freaking out about it.

Monty looked up from his computer. “What?”

“What if he kisses me?”

Miller stopped was he was doing and stared at her. “Has he _not_  already kissed you? I thought you guys were pretty cozy.”

“No-- I mean,” Clarke said, face turning pink. “He’s kissed me on the cheek and forehead, and stuff, or whatever. But--”

“But? Oh my god,” Monty said, jaw hanging open. “Have you never kissed a boy?”

“I made out with this girl on my team when I was fourteen. Girls are great. I also like boys, but _no_ , I haven’t!” There was panic scrawled across her face and Miller tried to hide his amusement.

Monty piped in before Miller could start laughing. “Well, I have a lot of experience kissing boys, and I assume it’s the same technique as kissing girls, so you should be fine!”

Miller snorted.

Clarke shot him a glare. 

Monty ignored Miller and continued. “Why is kissing Bellamy any different from kissing the girl on your team?”

Clarke ducked her head. “I don’t know,” she mumbled, then looked up. “I _really_  like Bellamy.”

“So there shouldn’t be a problem!”

“What if I’m bad at it?”

“Did that girl _tell_  you you were bad at it?”

“No,” Clarke protested.

Monty reached across the table and grabbed Clarke’s hand. “Clarke, you are great. Bellamy likes you. You have nothing to worry about. Okay?”

Clarke took a long, deep breath and nodded. “Thanks _Monty_.” She shot a look over at Miller who just snorted again and continued working on his lit paper.

* * *

Clarke was a mess of nerves and excited as they took the field. The entire stadium was full, being Homecoming and all. The lights clicked on, as the sun was beginning to dip below the horizon and it was officially Friday Night Lights time. 

There was an energy to the game that Clarke hadn’t experienced yet. Sure, their school was _good_ , but when it’s Homecoming you’re not just playing for the season win, you’re playing for all the teams that came before you and all the teams that will follow you.

When Octavia looped her arm through Clarke’s and skipped them towards the opponents squad at half-time, Clarke found herself smiling. She _loved_  this. Clarke Griffin. Almost Olympian. Loved high school.

They won the game 35-10 and Clarke nearly lost her voice from cheering for the team, _for Bellamy_. 

Bellamy’s eyes found hers in the midst of the team celebrating the win, still down on the field. He waved and Clarke caught a glimpse of the bracelet she’d made for him, school colors. She smiled back and waved.

* * *

Almost an hour had passed and Clarke leaned against the cool tiled wall of the athletic building, just outside the boy’s locker room. 

Bellamy emerged, water still dripping from his hair. 

“Hey,” she said, pushing off the wall. “I told my mom I had a ride home.”

Bellamy smiled and shifted his bag on his shoulder. “Well dang, you already have a ride? Now who am I going to take to get Frosty’s and french fries?”

Clarke bit her lip and shook her head. “ _You’re_  my ride, dumbass.”

“Oooooh,” Bellamy said, teasing. “Well if that’s the case. How do you feel about Frosty’s and french fries?”

“I feel really hungry.”

Bellamy laughed and slung his free arm over Clarke’s shoulder, and she snaked an arm around his waist, walking towards his car.

* * *

Bellamy ended up eating two double-cheese burgers, a large Frosty, and large fries and _most_  of Clarke’s fries as well.

“Hey!” She slapped his hand when he went for her last fry.

Bellamy dipped forward and pressed a loud, wet smack against her cheek. 

“You ready for tomorrow?” he asked, slurping up the last bit of his Coke. 

Clarke smiled at him. “You ready to sweep me off my feet?”

“Oh, princess, you have no idea what you’re in for.” He winked dramatically at him and pushed up from the table, reaching for the tray. 

They got to his car and Bellamy reached for her door. Clarke stopped and turned around before he was able to open it. “I am though.”

Bellamy raised an eyebrow. 

“Ready for tomorrow. I am really excited.”

His face slowly split into a grin and Clarke leaned up, kissed his cheek and turned back to the door and waited for him to open it.

Homecoming was going to be fun.

**Author's Note:**

> This was originally posted on [bellarkefanfiction](http://bellarkefanfiction.tumblr.com). Uploading it here because we get asks trying to find it quite often.


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